Assessment Status Notes

Taxonomic notes

Why suggested for a Global Red List Assessment?

Hygrophorus marzuolus is a, edible ectomycorrhizal species mainly of Abies, fruiting in spring. Considerable decrease has been noted in most parts of the area of occupancy in the last 40 years, probably due to nitrogen deposition and fir decline.

Geographic range

Temperate Europe (around the Alps and the Carpathes) and mountainous zones in North Africa. Mainly within the area of occurence of Abies alba.

Population and Trends

Judging from distribution maps Baden-Württemberg counts about 70 sites (Krieglsteiner 2001), Switzerland about 200 (http://www.swissfungi.ch) and Austria 120 (http://austria.mykodata.net). In Italy it is recorded from 13 regions (Onofri 2005).The database from Switzerland suggests losses in the past 60 years.
The fungus nearly exclusively occurs in natural and near-natural forests (seldom in plantations).
In the past the species was sold on markets in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland (nowadays this is prohibited)

Threats

In the European scale the fungus is vulnerable (?). Sites are mainly threatened by silvicultural intensification (e.g. clear felling, planting of allochthonous trees, fertilization), but also by strong acidification due to air pollution. Silver fir (Abies alba) showed a strong dieback in the 1980s in its range of occurrence (e.g Bernadzki, E. 1983) in Europe. Its reaction to climate change and its prospects are controversly debated (Hanewinkel et al 2011, Tinner et al 2013)
The species is red listed in Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia (preliminary list), Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovakia. It is protected by law in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Slovakia. The species is locally protected or picking is restricted in certain regions of Italy (Onofri 2005)